Compare Altium Designer and KiCad EDA

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At a Glance
Altium Designer
Altium Designer
Star Rating
(577)4.5 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (54.8% of reviews)
Information
Entry-Level Pricing
Starting at $355.00 Per Month
Free Trial is available
Browse all 2 pricing plans
KiCad EDA
KiCad EDA
Star Rating
(64)4.6 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (84.7% of reviews)
Information
Entry-Level Pricing
Free
Browse all 2 pricing plans
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
  • Users report that KiCad EDA offers a free entry-level price, making it highly accessible for small businesses and hobbyists, while Altium Designer starts at $355.00, which may be a barrier for some users.
  • Reviewers mention that KiCad EDA excels in ease of setup with a score of 9.3, indicating a user-friendly experience for new users, whereas Altium Designer has a lower score of 8.3 in this area, suggesting a steeper learning curve.
  • G2 users highlight that Altium Designer shines in PCB layout editing and schematic editing, both scoring 9.2, which indicates robust features for professional users, while KiCad EDA scores 8.2 and 8.4 respectively, showing it may lack some advanced functionalities.
  • Users on G2 report that Altium Designer's component placement tools are superior, scoring 8.9 compared to KiCad EDA's 8.3, which suggests a more efficient workflow for users who prioritize this feature.
  • Reviewers mention that KiCad EDA has a strong community support system, reflected in its quality of support score of 8.1, while Altium Designer has a slightly higher score of 8.3, indicating that both products have good support but KiCad may have a more engaged user community.
  • Users say that Altium Designer's product direction is viewed positively with a score of 8.8, indicating confidence in its future development, while KiCad EDA's score of 8.6 suggests a solid but slightly less optimistic outlook.
Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
Altium Designer
Altium Designer Term-Based
Starting at $355.00
Per Month
Browse all 2 pricing plans
KiCad EDA
OSS Edition
Free
Browse all 2 pricing plans
Free Trial
Altium Designer
Free Trial is available
KiCad EDA
Free Trial is available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
9.1
473
8.5
45
Ease of Use
8.1
481
8.5
47
Ease of Setup
8.3
172
9.2
6
Ease of Admin
8.4
61
Not enough data
Quality of Support
8.3
423
8.0
35
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
8.6
55
Not enough data
Product Direction (% positive)
8.8
462
8.6
42
Features by Category
8.3
79
Not enough data
Design
8.6
73
Not enough data
8.3
70
Not enough data
8.6
70
Not enough data
8.3
70
Not enough data
Edit
8.0
69
Not enough data
8.1
64
Not enough data
8.8
67
Not enough data
8.0
61
Not enough data
Collaboration
8.7
66
Not enough data
8.5
66
Not enough data
8.2
63
Not enough data
8.6
438
8.1
37
Design
9.2
420
8.1
35
9.2
418
8.3
35
Tools
7.7
391
6.6
29
8.9
412
8.3
34
Library
8.3
418
7.8
33
Platform
9.1
412
8.6
34
9.2
415
8.4
33
Customization
7.9
351
7.6
25
7.9
356
Feature Not Available
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
Altium Designer
Altium Designer
KiCad EDA
KiCad EDA
Altium Designer and KiCad EDA are categorized as PCB Design
Unique Categories
Altium Designer
Altium Designer is categorized as General-Purpose CAD
KiCad EDA
KiCad EDA has no unique categories
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
Altium Designer
Altium Designer
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
54.8%
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
31.3%
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
13.9%
KiCad EDA
KiCad EDA
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
84.7%
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
11.9%
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
3.4%
Reviewers' Industry
Altium Designer
Altium Designer
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing
22.1%
Automotive
11.6%
Consumer Electronics
10.2%
Medical Devices
7.3%
Industrial Automation
4.5%
Other
44.3%
KiCad EDA
KiCad EDA
Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing
42.4%
Consumer Electronics
13.6%
Design
8.5%
Research
5.1%
Industrial Automation
5.1%
Other
25.4%
Most Helpful Reviews
Altium Designer
Altium Designer
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Verified User
G
Verified User in Computer Hardware

The best part about Altium is all the features that it has. You can easily go from idea, to schematic, to PCB all within Altium. It also has extra features that are super nice, such as the Manufacturer Part Search and an ActiveBOM that keep track of...

Most Helpful Critical Review
Verified User
G
Verified User in Defense & Space

The software seems to be an amalgamation of multiple legacy software packages that have been shoehorned together without being redesigned from the ground up for optimal functionality. This results in random bugs, crashes, and some unexpected behavior for...

KiCad EDA
KiCad EDA
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Verified User
G
Verified User in Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing

It's my personal review. After using serval PCB design software I can surely say that EasyEDA is the best. It's also easy to learn and design great PCBs for beginners and for professional it's a great choice. We can get quick preview of 3D PCB in just...

Most Helpful Critical Review
Verified User
G
Verified User in Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing

Going from other PCB software, to kicad might be a little harder

Alternatives
Altium Designer
Altium Designer Alternatives
Autodesk Fusion
Autodesk Fusion
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AutoCAD
AutoCAD
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Onshape
Onshape
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SOLIDWORKS
SOLIDWORKS
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KiCad EDA
KiCad EDA Alternatives
Autodesk Fusion
Autodesk Fusion
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Altium CircuitMaker
Altium CircuitMaker
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Autodesk EAGLE
Autodesk EAGLE
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DipTrace
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Discussions
Altium Designer
Altium Designer Discussions
Is there a way to modelize in 3D the Pcb designs?
3 comments
SQ
No or Yes, you can only place 3D bodies for components in PCB and get 3D view of your design. I think by placing components are your will. yes you can...Read more
Is Altium Designer free?
3 comments
HA
No. You must pay for its use.Read more
Who uses Altium?
3 comments
JL
Electrical engineers, specifically embedded hardware design engineers. Read more
KiCad EDA
KiCad EDA Discussions
How can I turn on only the radsnet of the component I am moving?
1 comment
IA
Yes you can. If you open Pcbnew, go to the right-hand side toolbar and you will see some tools. The first one (top) is the arrow key for "Select item". The...Read more
What is the best EDA software?
1 comment
PS
KiCad is a software suite for electronic design automation (EDA).Read more
Monty the Mongoose crying
KiCad EDA has no more discussions with answers